Griffins re-sign Toledo Walleye starter Pat Nagle

The Grand Rapids Griffins re-signed Toledo Walleye goaltender Pat Nagle to a 2-way AHL-ECHL contract this afternoon:

GRIFFINS RE-SIGN GOALTENDER PAT NAGLE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday re-signed goaltender Pat Nagle to a one-year contract.

A native of Bloomfield, Mich., Nagle enjoyed the best campaign of his seven-year pro career in 2017-18, his first as a member of the Toledo Walleye, the Griffins’ ECHL affiliate. His league-high 37 wins (37-6-4) set a Toledo mark and tied for the third-most in ECHL history, falling just one shy of the record.

Nagle led the Walleye to a Central Division title and the second-best record (50-17-3-2, 105 pts.) in the ECHL last season while placing among the circuit’s leaders with 50 goalie games played (1st), three shutouts (T4th), a career-best 0.924 save percentage (5th) and a 2.23 goals against average (6th) that tied his personal-best set the previous season.

Along the way to earning All-ECHL Second Team honors, he participated in his first ECHL All-Star Game and was named the league’s Goalie of the Month for both November (7-1-1) and February (8-0-0). In the midst of his landmark season, Nagle posted a 10-game winning streak (Jan. 27-March 2) as part of his franchise-record 17-game point run (15-0-2 from Jan. 24-March 18).

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound netminder capped off three standout seasons (2014-17) with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets by tallying a 15-3-4 record, a 2.23 GAA and a 0.916 save percentage in 25 appearances during the 2016-17 campaign. If he had played enough minutes to qualify, Nagle would have placed third in the league in GAA and eighth in save percentage that year.

Nagle has appeared in 272 ECHL games since 2011-12 with Florida, Idaho, Fort Wayne and Toledo, amassing a 160-65-28 record, a 2.54 GAA, a 0.914 save percentage and 13 shutouts. As a rookie with Florida, he helped the Everblades capture the Kelly Cup in 2012.

Nagle logged two games with the Griffins in 2014-15 and picked up a win while showing a 0.78 GAA and a 0.971 save percentage. The 30-year-old has competed in seven career AHL games since 2012-13 between Grand Rapids, Syracuse, Rochester and Utica, going 1-4-0 with a 3.23 GAA and a 0.900 save percentage.

Prior to turning pro, Nagle played four seasons at Ferris State University (CCHA) from 2007-11 and ranks among the school’s all-time leaders with 45 wins (3rd), a 2.32 GAA (3rd) and a 0.916 save percentage (T2nd). As a senior in 2010-11, he was named a CCHA First-Team All-Star after posting a 2.02 GAA and a 0.923 save percentage.

A bit about the Larkin contract negotiations from Custance

The Athletic’s Craig Custance wrote an article discussing Dylan Larkin’s contract negotiations with the Red Wings, and it appears that the Red Wings will have to work some salary cap magic to maximize both Larkin’s yield and the team’s ability to balance its books:

The salary cap is a complicated thing and in order to completely maximize the Johan Franzen long-term injured reserve option, the Red Wings would want to get as close to $78.745 million as possible (their adjusted cap number because of bonuses) before putting him on long-term injured reserve. Then they could exceed the cap by Franzen’s salary.

“Basically wherever you are before you activate LTI, they take a snapshot of your cap picture and you get the player you’re putting on to LTI’s cap room and that’s it,” said an Eastern Conference capologist. “You want to get as close to [the cap] as possible.”

With the Red Wings currently at $76.67 million (according to CapFriendly.com), that would leave them with just about $2 million to sign Larkin to get that ideal snapshot before putting Franzen on LTI. Obviously, that’s not going to happen. Even when you factor in the Franzen salary ($3.945 million) that’s still just getting into the range of what it’s likely going to take to get Larkin signed to anything beyond a bridge deal.

“I have them really jammed up unless they know someone is going,” said the cap expert.

As explored earlier this week, their jammed up depth chart along with this cap situation points to a winger trade being very advantageous for the Red Wings. Moving Gustav Nyquist ($4.75 million) would make a Larkin deal fit in nicely before using any LTIR. Athansiou’s $3 million would give breathing room, too.

Custance continues (paywall)…

HSJ on retiring Sergei Fedorov’s #91

The Free Press’s Helene St. James broaches a somewhat sensitive subject this afternoon, discussing whether the Red Wings should retire Sergei Fedorov’s #91. The answer is obviously, “Yes!”

He was an electrifying presence, an incredibly strong skater who dominated all over the ice and one of the most skilled Red Wings of all time. Off the ice, however, his Detroit career was tarnished by a contract holdout and his  decision to play for the Anaheim Ducks for less money in Southern California.

The bitterness between the organization and Fedorov — and fans and Fedorov —  appeared to subside in 2015 when he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. And as more time passes, it becomes more likely that his No. 91 will become the eighth number retired by the Red Wings.

“Sergei had a fabulous career in a Red Wings uniform,” general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press. “He had a tremendous impact on this franchise. I would assume as we continue to go forward there will be ongoing conversations about his impact on this franchise.”

Attempts to reach Red Wings owner Christopher Ilitch were unsuccessful.

Scotty Bowman, who coached Fedorov from 1993 to 2002, winning three Stanley Cups, did not hesitate with his answer when asked if Fedorov’s number should be retired by the Wings.

“Sure,” Bowman said. “He’s done it all. Sergei was a spectacular player. He was so good offensively and defensively. Sometimes it takes a little while. Detroit doesn’t retire as many, which makes it more valuable.”

St. James continues…

 

Khan profiles Kasper Kotkansalo

This afternoon MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo, who attended Boston University this past season:

Kotkansalo, who participated in the Red Wings development camp last month at Little Caesars Arena, is working on his skating and agility.

“I think my speed is all right,” Kotkansalo said. “I just think agility-wise, I’m not consuming that much when I’m skating, my edge work. I think I can shake forwards off better if I can skate better.

“We did that PEP (Power Edge Pro) stuff, stuff like that I really need to work on this summer. We’re getting some good keys to do that so hopefully get better at it.”

Kotkansalo also possesses some leadership qualities that appeal to the Red Wings.

“When he went to Switzerland and played for Finland’s under-19 team, he wore the captaincy,” Red Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler Wright said. “He’s a good leader, a good skater, showed a little bit more offense than we saw in the USHL.”

Continued

Four Tweets of note: It’s Cleary-Horcoff Invitational time

Of Twitter-related note this morning:

1. The old Cleary-Horcoff Invitational has grown into quite the shindig, and a reunion of former Red Wings to boot. Daniel Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Jimmy Howard, Valtteri Filppula, Todd Bertuzzi, Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist joined Horcoff, Ryan Whitney, Mike Commodore, Nicklas Backstrom, Erik Karlsson and assorted NHL friends for a golf tournament in Scotland:

2. Here’s an FYI regarding a Red Wings player appearance in greater Grand Rapids, per the Holland Sentinel’s Chris Zadorozny:

3. The Larkin Hockey School’s first “class” for 2018 completed its course of instruction in Waterford, MI today:

4. This bit of editorial content comes from the NHL Network, via the Red Wings:

Update: WXYZ’s Brad Galli filed a feature from Dylan Larkin’s hockey camp:

 

Via the Wings: Ken Holland appears on ‘The Power Play’ on NHL Radio

Via the Red Wings, GM Ken Holland appeared on the NHL on Sirius XM Radio’s “The Power Play” program earlier this afternoon:

Slightly belated: Red Wings sign Anthony Mantha to 2-year, $6.6 contract

While I was at the grocery store, per the Red Wings:

RED WINGS AND ANTHONY MANTHA AGREE TO TWO-YEAR CONTRACT
… Former First-Round Pick Led Red Wings with 24 Goals in 2017-18 …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today agreed to terms with right wing Anthony Mantha on a two-year contract.

Mantha, 23, skated in 80 games with the Red Wings in 2017-18 and produced a team-leading 24 goals, while ranking among Detroit’s leaders with 24 assists (4th), 48 points (3rd), 52 penalty minutes (4th), nine power-play goals (1st), 190 shots (3rd) and a 12.6 shooting percentage (1st). He registered multiple points in a single game on 10 occasions last season, including four three-point games and a career-high four points (2-2-4) on March 6 at Boston. Mantha became part of Red Wings history during the 2017-18 campaign by scoring the first-ever goal at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit’s season-opening 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 5, 2017. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound winger has appeared in 150 games with the Red Wings since 2015-16, notching 87 points (43-44-87) and 107 penalty minutes.

The Longueuil, Quebec, native was drafted by the Red Wings in the first round (20th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He also appeared in 132 games with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins from 2014-17, totaling 88 points (44-44-88), a plus-20 rating and 102 penalty minutes in 132 regular-season games and 15 points (6-9-15), a plus-six rating and 24 penalty minutes in 25 postseason games. Prior to turning professional, Mantha enjoyed a historic 2013-14 campaign in which he was named the Canadian Hockey League’s Player of the Year and the most-valuable player of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after racking up 120 points (57-63-120) in 57 regular-season games and 38 points (24-14-38) in 24 playoff games to help the Val-d’Or Foreurs capture the QMJHL championship. In 189 QMJHL games between 2010-14, Mantha totaled 260 points (129-131-260), a plus-42 rating and 185 penalty minutes. He also led Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship with 11 points (5-6-11) in seven games.

Anthony Mantha, Right Wing
Born Sep 16 1994 — Longueuil, PQ
Height 6.05 — Weight 225 — Shoots L
Selected by Detroit Red Wings round 1 #20 overall 2013 NHL Entry Draft

— Regular Season —  —- Playoffs —-
Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
————————————————————————————–
2010-11  Val d’Or Foreurs            QMJHL   2    0    0    0    0  —  —  —  —  —
2011-12  Val d’Or Foreurs            QMJHL  63   22   29   51   39   4   2   2   4   6
2012-13  Val d’Or Foreurs            QMJHL  67   50   39   89   71   9   5   7  12  13
2013-14  Val d’Or Foreurs            QMJHL  57   57   63  120   75  24  24  14  38  52
2014-15  Grand Rapids Griffins       AHL    62   15   18   33   64  16   2   2   4  16
2015-16  Grand Rapids Griffins       AHL    60   21   24   45   32   9   4   7  11   8
2015-16  Detroit Red Wings           NHL    10    2    1    3    2  —  —  —  —  —
2016-17  Grand Rapids Griffins       AHL    10    8    2   10    6  —  —  —  —  —
2016-17  Detroit Red Wings           NHL    60   17   19   36   53  —  —  —  —  —
2017-18  Detroit Red Wings           NHL    80   24   24   48   52  —  —  —  —  —
————————————————————————————–
NHL Totals                        150   43   44   87  107

Update: The Free Press’s Helene St. James confirms…

Continue reading Slightly belated: Red Wings sign Anthony Mantha to 2-year, $6.6 contract

Meet Wings draft pick Seth Barton

DetroitRedWings.com’s Dana Wakiji penned a profile of Red Wings 2018 draft pick Seth Barton, a defenseman who played for the BCHL’s Trail Smoke Eaters this past season:

When you look at defenseman Seth Barton, one thing stands out – he could definitely stand to put on a few pounds. At the Red Wings’ recent development camp, Barton was one of the taller defensemen at 6-foot-3 but he was by far the lightest at just 174 pounds.

The second lightest defenseman was Gustav Lindstrom at 187 pounds. Lindstrom was the Wings’ second-round pick, 38th overall, in the 2017 draft.

But Barton will have time to add weight when he attends the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

“I went down on a visit there,” Barton said. “Just very professional in the way they handled things there. Norm Bazin, the head coach, well-respected, and the facilities they have there are outstanding for development. So pretty easy choice.”

Barton was the Wings’ second third-round pick, 81st overall, in last month’s NHL Entry Draft in Dallas.

“It was pretty incredible,” Barton said. “I wasn’t sure if they were at the top of the list going into draft day so it was pretty incredible getting a call from Ken (Holland, Detroit’s general manager). Obviously seeing it on TV, seeing it with my family, that was pretty cool.”

Wakiji continues…

The Grand Rapids Griffins release their 2018-19 season schedule

From the Grand Rapids Griffins:

GRIFFINS ANNOUNCE 2018-19 SCHEDULE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday released their schedule for the 2018-19 American Hockey League season. It will mark the franchise’s 23rd campaign overall, 18th as members of the AHL and 17th as the primary affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Led by first-year head coach Ben Simon, the Griffins will start their 76-game schedule on the road for the 11th time in franchise history, as they take on the defending Western Conference champion Texas Stars on Fri., Oct. 5. Grand Rapids wraps up a season-opening two-game road swing with a visit to the San Antonio Rampage on Sat., Oct. 6 before beginning its home slate on Fri., Oct. 12 against the Hershey Bears with Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank.

Highlights of the 2018-19 schedule include:

Continue reading The Grand Rapids Griffins release their 2018-19 season schedule